New York in July – what we did

Having established that New York in July is hot hot hot, you’d be forgiven for thinking that being a very pale cold weather addict, I wouldn’t want to do very much. In reality, we actually managed to pack loads into our short stay, and were out every night which is most unusual for our trips. I very quickly gave up putting make up on as it just melted off, my feet are still broken, and I ruined a pair of shoes, but we powered through to have an amazing holiday.

What did we get up to, other than walking, shopping, and eating (which I’ll cover off later):

Saturday night – The Container Store
OK, OK, a bit of a slow start to our trip. We landed at 2.30pm, raced through security onto the LIRR, and we were all checked in by 4. Such an efficient start to the holiday! We had assumed we wouldn’t have much time on our first night so hadn’t planned anything, but I knew I needed a Mint Mocha Frap from ‘my’ Starbucks so I took Husband over there first. We then wandered down 6th Avenue, spent about an hour in The Container Store, before grabbing some dinner and getting back to the room.

Saturday night looking at bins and then getting caught in a rain storm – what an epic life.

Sunday night – John OliverThe perfect way to end a day wandering around Midtown was watching John Oliver at the CBS Broadcast Center. So amazing.

Monday afternoon – The Big Sick at the Alamo DrafthouseThis was our first trip to Brooklyn, and we didn’t get to see much but what we did see, we loved. We took the East River ferry which was so easy, cheap, and fast. Much more enjoyable that the subway. We alighted at DUMBO and walked the mile or so to Fulton Street, which ordinarily would have been delightful but it was just so freaking hot so we didn’t really enjoy the walk.

Thank goodness for the air con at the Alamo Drafthouse. I have been mildly obsessed with seeing The Big Sick for a while, mostly because I adore Kumail Nanjiani. Admittedly, we could have seen the film in Manhattan, but c’mon – it’s the Alamo Drafthouse! Once we’d figured out how to order food, we had cocktails, a giant bowl of popcorn, warm pretzels. The legendary service they offer was absolutely perfect and WHY CAN’T WE HAVE THIS IN THE UK?!?!?!

The film was pretty damn perfect as well. I want to see it again!!

Monday night – 1984I was a bit nervous to see this as reviews really laid it on thick with the warnings – people fainting, getting into fights, graphic torture. Not really a fun evening.

I didn’t need to be worried – I found the entire thing boring and unnecessary. Everyone else around me thought it was great though, so maybe it was just me.

Tuesday Morning – The High LineI’ve been on the High Line three times now, and each time has been cold, windy, and featured dead wintery plants. This was the first time that we’d been with the plants and trees in full bloom and it was glorious. There’s still a bit of building works around it, and parts of it were incredibly busy, but I loved it as always. Truly my favourite part of New York.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Greenwich Village and Soho which is my favourite part of Manhattan. We did consider going to the Whitney but it was insanely busy (do New York galleries every have quiet periods?).

Tuesday night – Macy’s fireworks
We ummed and ahhed about what we’d do on 4th July. I’d trawled the entire internet for a rooftop bar to watch the fireworks from but they were either sold out or ridiculously priced. Everyone online said it would be an absolute nightmare to go down to the East River to watch, so up until the very last minute we weren’t going to bother.

I’m glad we did. We filed up the on-ramp onto the closed FDR drive about an hour before the show and managed to get a spot right in the centre of the five barges loaded with fireworks, although some of the view was blocked by a couple of street signs – we were stood directly below a sign for exit 9. There were thousands of people on the freeway if not more, but 95% of people were lovely and very respectful of everyone’s personal space.

The main problem was trying to get back to the hotel once the fireworks were over as we had to walk down the freeway to the next exit, which was 12 blocks away from where we wanted to be. It took us about an hour, and my step count leapt to 34,000 steps for the day. I was shattered. No regrets at all though – the fireworks were very pretty, and it was a great experience.

Wednesday Morning – Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum
I wasn’t particularly interested in visiting Intrepid but Husband has wanted to go for years so it was only fair that we visited. My review – there weren’t enough seats and it was weird being on an aircraft carrier.

He really enjoyed it and I got doughnuts afterwards so that’s all that matters.